Vehicle manufacturers have developed various types of in-vehicle and/or on-board computer processing systems that include vehicle control, mobile and nomadic device communications systems, related messaging and control capabilities, and various other vehicle related applications. Additionally, such vehicle systems sometimes are further configured to enable automated vehicle features, and secure pairing and communications with such mobile and nomadic devices when located inside the vehicle. One such automated capability includes, for example, detecting a mobile or nomadic device that is configured to operate as a key and/or key fob for the vehicle, when such a key or key fob is detected to be within an effective range of a driver seat position.
Such key-fob-enabled mobile and/or nomadic devices have typically been configured as Bluetooth low energy (BLE) devices that must be within a predetermined range of a transceiver in the vehicle to enable such operations. While some advances have been made to detect locations of such mobile and nomadic devices within a cabin of the vehicle, limitations persist that prevent consistent and accurate location detection capabilities, and opportunities for improvements persist.